Cleanse!

Eating the right food and exercising aren't all that are required to achieve and maintain ultimate vitality. Our intake of nutrients needs to be assimilated to become useful to the body and its waste must be eliminated. Unfortunately, a certain amount of what we eat might not get digested. It's frightening to think that undigested food stays in our gut and slowly putrefies as it accumulates! It clutters the system and reduces our ability to assimilate and to eliminate properly.

All this contributes to poor skin condition and will likely affect our body shape in addition to our health.

The term 'colon' is often used as a synonym for the large intestine. More properly, it is a part of the large intestine and ends at the anus. Burton Goldberg Group's Alternative Medicine Guide states:

"The colon along with the skin, kidneys and lungs, is a major organ for eliminating body waste."

This awareness points to the need to pay attention to the way your body eliminates and not simply focus on how to nourish it.

The older we get, the more we need internal cleansing. It is logical to start with the part of the system closest to the exit. Any blockage in the colon area will affect the elimination capacity of any other organ involved in assimilation and elimination. There is a variety of ways to flush the colon. They are worth reviewing with a naturopath. Some of those ways, such as a colonic irrigation, are offered at some wellness centers.

Other organs like the liver and gallbladder also benefit from periodic flushes. They can be simply induced by taking natural products over a short period of time. They are best done during the energetic season corresponding to the energy of the organs. For example, it would be during the spring (Wood element) for liver and gallbladder. In general, the best period for a colonic flush is the energetic fall because the large intestine belongs to the Metal element.

Some people recommend fasting as a means to achieve a general internal cleanse. That is best done according to the guidance of a trained practitioner. Certain spas and wellness centers specialize in cleansing cures of three to seven days or more. 

For more on this subject, consult The Detox Diet by Elson M. Haas, MD